


Acquainted

by heavierdirtysoul



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: 18+, Alcohol, Fluff and Smut, Innocent Tyler, M/M, Marijuana, NSFW, Sarcastic Josh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-28
Updated: 2016-08-04
Packaged: 2018-07-27 08:38:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7611172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heavierdirtysoul/pseuds/heavierdirtysoul
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Celebrating his 18th birthday in Mexico was something Tyler had only ever dreamed of, until his parents made it a reality. Of course, when dreams come true, things never seem to go as planned.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 01

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone!
> 
> I just started working on this story recently, so it is a work in progress. I'm really excited to debut it, and to see what you all think of this plot.
> 
> I do have tons of ideas for the plot, even after both Tyler & Josh's family come back from vacation. So let's pray we get there!
> 
> Not to mention, this is the first story I've ever posted on here.
> 
> Welp, enjoy.
> 
> Here's chapter one!

The feeling of sand under Tyler’s feet was so foreign. There had only been a few other times that he had felt sand, and even then he was too young to form a vivid memory. Living in Ohio you could go to the lake, but everyone knew it was nothing compared to the cane white sand his feet were resting on. Listening to the waves crash on the shore was undecidedly Tyler’s favorite sound in the universe, besides the sound of a grand piano of course. There was something so calming about the same reassuring sound of the water brushing on the shore, and the routine of the waves crashing one by one. He blinked his eyes, it had came to his attention that he had zoned out. No wonder why, his brother Zack hadn’t shut up since they got to the resort, and he could tell he would be doing this a lot during their two week stay. 

Thankfully, because all three of Tyler’s siblings were home schooled, they had the opportunity to slip off at the beginning of January for their annual family retreat. This had been the first year that their family had ever left the country, and if Tyler was honest he was really excited. This vacation was kind of a big deal because, it was the first time he could drink legally in any country. His 18th birthday had just passed in December, and this trip was also kind of to celebrate that, which he liked. All of his friends had already been 18 when they received their certificate of graduation, so of course he was happy he could finally join his friends at nightclubs to watch live music, and vote? Kind of.

So here they were, the Joseph family of six, in the beautiful spanish speaking country of Mexico. His father, Chris, and Mother, Kelly, decided on a beautiful resort in the newest part of Puerto Vallarta, Nuevo Vallarta to celebrate their oldest son’s birthday. And where better to spend it at no other than the Hard Rock Hotel? Sure Tyler had dreams of becoming a musician, but his parents always steered him toward something a bit more practical. For one occasion, his father didn’t see any harm in bringing it to life for him even in the slightest. 

“Are you even listening?” Zack asked Tyler, his attitude soaked his words, but Tyler didn’t bite.

“Not really,” He breathed, looking out at the shoreline. He realized at that moment, he wanted to be alone, but didn’t have the courage to say that to his kid brother.

“I asked if you wanted to come check out the rest of the resort with me.”

Tyler groaned, knowing that even if he told his brother to leave him be, he would end up leaving with him anyways. Zack was always like that, had to have his way no matter what, and had no shame in begging to get it.

“I have no choice.” 

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Zack agreed, and began to walk ahead of his brother.

His feet started moving, and he could feel himself getting sad as the soft sand clumped under his feet as he walked toward the steps. The sun was beaming down on him, and of course, he was in all black, with skinny jeans and all. He’d never wished that he had shorts so bad until now, he remembered he had a pair of basketball shorts in his backpack and decided to use that as an excuse to get away from his brother for at least a few minutes.

“I’m gonna go find Mom and Dad, they have my backpack, and I need to get changed before I have a heat stroke.” Tyler explained, somewhat out of breath. Why was walking on sand so difficult?

“Yeah, you look like you’re going to a funeral. I’ll be waiting by the grill over there,” Zack pointed, and Tyler’s gaze met his destination. “Don’t be long.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Tyler muttered, before darting away from his younger sibling. He felt a pang of guilt fill his chest, but he ignored it. The kid is around him all the time, he could deal with being alone for fifteen minutes.

The resort was really breath-taking, not anything like Tyler had experience prior to this. All he knew was he was happy he was old enough to enjoy it, and actually remember it. The pools were tiled in all different shades of blue, light, dark, mixing together to make the crystal clear water the perfect shade of blue, which he assumed was supposed to mimic the ocean. As Tyler walked near the edge of the main pool, he saw the tiles patterned positioned in such a way that a guitar was formed in the center. That was aesthetically pleasing to him for some reason, he couldn’t wait to get in the water. Which that reminded him, he was really hot.

There was a bridge that passed over a small part of the pool, he decided to take it not sure of where it would be leading him, but it seemed like the right choice to make. There was a lot of couples here, not too many families, which he liked. He hated the idea of having to force himself to hang out with another family, because yes, that happened a lot. And no, Tyler didn’t enjoy it.

Over the years, Tyler wasn’t really ever able to make his own friends entirely. Sure there was friends he made at his choir group, but those were the only friends he could choose. Everyone else he was associated with was carefully hand chosen by the fingertips of his parents, and sadly he never protested. He didn’t think he had to, until he realized what they were doing.

It was never easy for Tyler to ever really, y’know, relate to other teens his age because he didn’t really know what they did, or talked about, or anything like that. All of his friends grew up in similar situations to his, which is why they’re friends in the first place. And anyone who wasn’t raised that way, wasn’t a good fit for a friend for Tyler, or any of his siblings. But somehow, he found himself wanting to befriend those people more because he couldn’t. 

Tyler pushed open a glass door to what he believed to be the lobby, it was white, with high ceilings. Photos of well respected artists wrapped every wall, and at that moment, he felt inferior. Never in his life was he as intimidated by a room as he was by the lobby of this hotel, and he accepted his fate, shrugging it off for good measure. No need to dwell on what he couldn’t fix, right?

His parents were standing close together, with what appeared a childless couple. Chris’ arm was wrapped securely around Kelly’s shoulders, but their expressions were warm, and kind. He knew this would be a good time to approach his parents, so he slowly walked over. The couples chimed with laughter, as he reached them. Chris’ hand squeezed Tyler’s shoulder softly. 

“This is our oldest, Tyler.” Chris says, breaking the bond between his wife and him. “Tyler, this is Mr. and Mrs. Dun. It’s come to our attention that they also live in Ohio, and guess what?”

Tyler’s heart sank, no. Fuck, please no.

“They’re a family of six too!” The cheer in Chris’ voice as he spoke to Tyler was almost mockery, he knew that Tyler hated this portion of every trip, but for some reason Tyler had it in his head that his Dad loved watching him suffer. And it was true, Chris did. 

Tyler felt his body about to explode, he had to say something, this other couple was standing there staring at him, waiting for a reaction. “What a small world.” He managed, before grabbing his backpack from the luggage pile nearest his Mother. “You didn’t happen to come alone, did you?”

Mrs. Dun gave Tyler a welcoming smile, “I’m sure you would have enjoyed that sweetheart, but, no the kids are off somewhere. They bolted, just like you and your siblings.” Mr. Dun let out a guttural laugh that Tyler was immediately intimidated of, “Anything to get away from your parents, right?” 

Tyler laughed unapologetically, he actually liked this couple. What was happening? “Um, yeah, which if you’ll excuse me I’m gonna go get changed so I don’t pass out.”

“Oh honey,” Kelly’s voice ripped through his ears, he groaned. “Yes go, but make sure you come back!” Tyler was already walking away when he heard his mother yell, “Bring Zack, Maddy, and Jay, we want you all to meet!”

Tyler was running at that point, anything to get away from the embarrassment that he called his parents. Here they were again, picking his friends, just like they’d picked everything else in his life. God forbid he wanted to spend some alone time with some beer, and a nice book. He sighed, feeling exhausted already. He knew this was going to be a long two weeks.


	2. 02

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!!!!  
> I just wanted to thank everyone who's commented, and given me kudos on this so far!  
> You all are really wonderful, and it means so much to me.
> 
> So good news:  
> This chapter is way longer.  
> And guess who finally meets?  
> xx

“Oh god.” Tyler whispered to himself, as he pulled his sweat infested skinny jeans off of him. A groan of relief sounded from his lips, as he slipped on his basketball shorts. The fabric of his jeans were visibly wet, which kind of grossed him out to think he was comfortable in that just three short hours ago. He pushed out of the stall with his pants in hand, and there was standing a guy, with crazy red hair, probably about his age, could be older. Tyler couldn’t tell. The guy was staring at him through the mirror, his feet froze in place.

“You weren’t like, jacking off in there, right?” The guy says, his tone sounds alarmed.

Tyler wanted to laugh, but he would look more of a freak than he was sure he already did. So he did what he did best, used sarcasm as his one and only defense mechanism. “Yeah man, sorry, I didn’t realize you were in here.”

The guy chuckled, which brought a smile to Tyler’s face. Finally someone with his sense of humor, “I wasn’t until about two seconds before I heard you whisper ‘Oh God’, and that was when I realized that I obviously missed something.”

If there was any moment in time for Tyler not to blush, it would be right now, in front of this guy that he’s never met. But that was just it, he’s a stranger, and he would probably never see him again. And if they did, it would be awkwardly across the pool or something, and they’d advert gazes. So what did it matter anyways?

“What did you think you missed?”

The guy laughed, “Well wouldn’t you like to know?” 

Tyler looked around in a confused fashion, then back at the guy, “Well yeah, I mean, I asked didn’t I?”

Somehow there was this shift in the air, and Tyler couldn’t quite pinpoint it. The next thing he knew the boy was facing him, their eyes met for the first time and Tyler dropped his gaze immediately. 

What. The. Fuck?

No one has ever looked at him that way before, and he wasn’t about to let it happen now. Especially another guy. 

Shit, he’s talking.

“Wh-what?” Tyler said, shaking his mind of the thoughts that drown out the stranger's voice, he always had to remind himself that not everyone was Zack, and some people had purpose in what they were saying.

“Easily distracted, huh?” The boy seemed pleased by this, and was also pleased with how much tension he was creating between the two of them. “I’m not repeating myself.” He said cooly, and just like that he was gone.

Wait. What just happened? 

Tyler felt like he missed something this time, and it was obviously important enough for the other to walk away like that. For a second, a thought of if he’d see him again crossed his mind. But then he quickly reminded himself that even if he did, the awkward gaze thing would happen, and that would be that.

After rushing out of the bathroom, he realized he had to not only find Zack, but his other two younger siblings as well. As if he actually really wanted to spend any time looking for them, it would give him a distraction from the awkward interaction he just had with a stranger. 

His first instinct was to head out back to where he knew Zack would be, so he did. And to his surprise, both his little sister Maddy, and his youngest brother Jay were standing with him, shoveling burgers in their face.  
Tyler approached them slowly, wondering if they’d act like animals being bothered at feeding time. He chuckled to himself, and they all glared at him.

“When you guys are done stuffing your faces, we have to go back to the lobby.” He said sternly, snatching Jay’s burger from his hands. He was so hungry, he heard his brother protesting at first but it didn’t bother him. A huge bite was taken out of the burger when it was returned, Jay didn’t bother to complain again, he knows that Tyler would push him in the pool at any given second.

Madison raised an eyebrow, “And who said you were the boss of us?

Zack choked while swallowing, he pushed his sister. “Woah, where did that come from?”

“Tyler is always bossing us around like we’re his slaves, not this trip, a-hole.” Madison whined, and at that moment he remembered why he spent so much time in his room. Alone.

“Listen,” Tyler started, his eyes passing over all three of them. “I honestly could care less about what little opinions you three have of me, seriously. And it’s not me who wants you to go to the lobby, it’s Mom and Dad. So why don’t you lose the damn attitude before I tell them you attempted cussing.” He spun on his foot, and began walking away from them. “Lets go. Now.” He barked, and heard the shuffle of feet behind him.

Jay caught up to Tyler, handing him the rest of his uneaten burger. “You could use this more than me.” He attempted, giving his older brother a reassuring grin. 

Tyler returned the smile, and wrapped his arm around his less annoying younger brother. Jay always had good intentions, he was just so young, Tyler never really had anything in common with him. But he knew that Jay looked up to him more than Zack, because let’s be real, who looked up to Zack?

\----------  
“Finally!” Kelly exclaimed, as all four of her children entered the lobby. Tyler was dreading the moment he would have to pretend once again to like this family, he kept his eyes down as the four siblings approached their parents. 

In his mind he was already plotting his escape plan, and exchanging words were flying through the air as the families got acquainted. But to Tyler’s surprised, the Dun’s children hadn’t returned from exploring yet. Which Tyler found to be nice, maybe they’d be feeling the same way he was and wished their parents would just, y’know, not.

Hand shakes, and grins were exchanged as all four of them were introduced. Tyler kept his mind somewhere else, he didn’t want to bother listening to pointless bantering. He didn’t want to start getting to know people he knew he didn’t want to be around. 

You know what he did want? A drink.

“Who wants a drink?!” Tyler blurted out mid conversation, unaware of how loud he spoke. All conversation stopped, and eyes were darted toward him.

Fuck. Why did he do that?

Chris and Bob laughed in unison, which got Tyler’s attention. Did they have the same sense of humor? 

“Get us a round of beers, won’t you?” Chris handed him a few dollars, “Here’s some tip money, and nothing else.” His tone was stern, but Tyler understood, he had a problem of pocketing money and not using it for the right purpose. 

Tyler was surprised that his Dad was so easily letting him slip away from an uncomfortable situation, that was so unlike him. Chris must have really been trying to make an impression on these people, he didn’t fight it. He left without saying a word.

The bar was a long room with marble flooring, and the tables and chairs looked like they were from the 15th century. Very medieval, Tyler was captivated by the history that was around him. There was no way any of this was replicated, the walls had gold trimmings, and a fireplace plastered onto the furthest wall. 

His eyes flickered to the bar, all he saw was red.

No please, no.

Tyler sat down on the stool next to the familiar face, clearing his throat to get the bartender’s attention. But all he received was a pair of solid brown eyes meeting his, he swallowed harder than he’d ever admit.

“So tell me how this works,” The red headed boy spoke to him, his heart started racing. Why was he still talking to him? “You bust before you drink? Or are you coming back for seconds?”

The grin on this boy’s face was deadly, Tyler knew it, but he couldn’t bring himself to look away.

“Seconds? I’m obviously way past that my friend, and by the looks of it, the bartender is ignoring me because of this.”

There it was again, his laugh. It must be contagious because suddenly, Tyler found himself laughing too. “He’s also a shitty bartender. I’ve been sitting here for 10 minutes.”

“Nothing?”

The boy shook his head, “Nothing.”

Tyler laughed again, feeling a blush creep up onto his cheeks. He breaks the staring match he had created with the red head, and looked at his hands. “What are you hiding in here from?”

He could see out of his peripheral that the boy whipped his head toward him as he spoke. He scoffed, “What makes you think I’m hiding from something?”

“You’re alone in a bar.” Tyler said to him dryly, there it was again, that laugh.

Holy shit. He actually thinks his jokes are funny?

“Well I mean I’m not anymore, you’re here right? Unless I’m dreaming that you’re real, which, I really seriously hope I’m not.” The boy replied, his smile beaming from his lips. “But I could say the same for you.”

The boy was right, if he wasn’t in here, Tyler would be doing the exact same thing he was. “Touché.” He shrugged, “My Dad wanted me to get some beer, and also, I don’t want to be anywhere near them. So there’s that.”

The redhead's eyes widened, “You’re avoiding your family too?”

Could it be…. No way, not, no, right?

“Yeah, I always do. My Dad has this weird idea that if we make friends with other families on vacation that we’ll become a stronger family. If you ask me it’s pretty stupid, but then again, so is he.” Tyler’s eyebrow lifted, “Wait, I thought you said you weren’t hiding from anything?”

The boy snorted this time when laughing, which made Tyler smile so wide. “I’m sorry, it just sounds like you’re talking about my Dad.” He paused, Tyler could tell he caught him off guard on that one. “Do you blame me? How was I supposed to know how you’d react?”

At that moment it all clicked, Tyler knew exactly who this mysterious boy with the red hair was. This was Bill and Laura’s son, Josh, the one they had boasted about moments before Tyler interjected.

“I’m Josh.” He said to Tyler, holding his hand out for him to grab.

Tyler wasn’t even in Mexico for more than three hours, and he knew that shaking this boy’s hand would change absolutely everything. And he really wanted to badly to not like Josh, but he was making it so hard.

Their hands met, fitting together perfectly. He tried not to notice, but the spark that was just ignited was too intriguing to ignore.

“I’m Tyler.”


	3. 03

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe the feedback I've been getting so far!  
> You all are inspiring me to keep this going, and I'm so freakin happy.  
> So I wanted to address the ages in the story, just to clarify some ages for everyone:
> 
> Tyler, Josh, Jenna, Debby, Halsey (or any other friend mentions): 18 years old.  
> (just to keep it simple plus this is AU)  
> Ashley: 17 years old.  
> Zack: 16 years old.  
> Madison: 13 years old.  
> Jordan: 12 years old.  
> Jay: 10 years old.  
> Abigail: 9 years old.
> 
> I hope this all makes sense, and it's great because they're all around the same age which means tons could happen!  
> Welp, I hope you all enjoy this chapter.  
> I know it's a little short, but I just wanted to stop it there to give a little suspense!  
> xoxx

Two seconds.

That was all it took for Tyler to realize:

1\. Meeting Josh first could work to his advantage  
2\. He would most likely regret this decision  
3\. This felt extremely hypocritical  
4\. He didn’t care one bit

“Tyler. Nice to meet you Tyler, now can you explain to me why you had a pair of pants in your hand?” Josh grinned at him, his eyes were beaming selflessly into his. Tyler wanted to run away, but his eyes were like magnets. Which only meant one thing.

Opposites attract.

He pulled his hand away before Josh speaking, their hands had lingered together for far too long, Tyler could feel his palm starting to sweat. Why was he nervous?

“Well, I wore jeans here not really realizing I would be in the devil’s backyard. I was hanging out by the beach for a while, and didn’t even realize I looked like the grim reaper. I was changing into my shorts when you walked in.” He shrugged unapologetically speaking nothing but the truth.

“Somehow, I believe that. And you don’t look like the grim reaper, FYI. If he was to manifest himself in human form, he wouldn’t use such a handsome face like yours. Too pure.” Josh teased, standing up from his seat at the bar.

Tyler was confused, was this it? He knew Josh would get bored of- wait, did he just call him handsome?

Tyler sat there frozen, waiting for Josh to finish his sentence, but he didn’t he just stared innocently at him, with that devilishly dangerous grin. “Too pure? What does that have to do with sending people to hell? Maybe the innocent ones are the chosen to punish those who sin.”

Josh’s grin turned into a frown, and Tyler’s heart sank. “Please don’t tell me you actually believe in anything being a sin…”

Tyler raised an eyebrow, this isn’t where he thought this conversation would be going. “Well, God died for our sins, to forgive us for all evil in the world, right?”

Josh sat back down immediately, touching Tyler’s shoulder. 

What was happening?

“Oh my god, they’ve brainwashed you, haven’t they? No wonder why you’re hiding in here.” Josh said his words filled with concern, rubbing the other’s shoulder apologetically. “Tyler, calling choices sins are only distractions from wrong decisions you’ve consciously made. Just because God can forgive you of your sin, doesn’t mean that other people will. And if you ask me, that’s way more important than getting the approval of,” Josh held up his fingers, mocking air quotes, “the man upstairs.”

What was he trying to say? His mouth gaped open at the answer Josh had just given him, and couldn’t even respond. Was Josh right? Holy shit.

“So are you saying you don’t believe that God does anything when you pray for forgiveness? That’s absurd, doesn’t he help others find the faith to forgive?” Tyler noticed how his argument was losing, but he still pressed, Josh seemed passionate about this. He needed more, he wanted to know more of what was in his mind.

“I’m sure he does, but I don’t think God helps people make decisions. That’s the point of being a person, being able to make your own decisions. Judge what you believe to be right or wrong, and stand your ground. Nothing should be justified just because God forgives you, what good does that do you if the person you’ve wronged doesn’t give a shit if you’re sorry?” Josh’s words were rushed, but Tyler felt every emotion that was pouring out of his speech.  
He was right, and Tyler hated himself for not realizing this before. This just adds to the list of shit that his parents have tried to control in his life, and at this point, he was sure that list was longer than Santa Claus’ naughty and nice list combined.

“I- I guess I never thought of it like that. I just kind of always thought God had the power to manipulate, and let others see the light in situations… But if God can’t fix it, how the hell am I supposed to know how to fix anything?” The curse slipped from Tyler’s lips, but he didn’t care, he was pretty sure Josh wouldn’t rat him out. “Where is the guidance coming from?”

“Within yourself.” Josh said to him simply, “Our minds work in really incredible ways, and the little voices in our heads aren’t just there for commentation, it’s there to help you make the right decision for yourself. Not for God.”

Tyler’s gaze fell from Josh’s eyes, he was rethinking everything he had ever believed in. That felt lonely, sometimes the hope he had in God was the only thing keeping him from jumping off the branches he sits on when he needs to get away. “So I’m my own God.”

Josh didn’t say anything, he just smiled at Tyler, giving his shoulder a squeeze. For a moment, their conversation was so intense, he forgot Josh had been touching him. He sucked his lip into his mouth, dumbfounded at the intelligence on this boy. 

Maybe befriending him wasn’t such a bad idea afterall.

“I don’t think you know what you just did for me, Josh.” Tyler said quietly, not wanting to alarm his new friend of the horrifying wars Tyler waged behind his face, and above his throat. It wasn’t the time, or place to be talking about anything like that. “This is why I hide from them, because they force me to believe, do, and say things that aren’t opinions of my own. I’ve been so sick of it lately, and you.” He paused, looking back up at Josh, his eyes were already intently watching Tyler’s every move. “You just ignited a match that I didn’t even know existed.”

Josh chuckled, God he loved hearing that. Tyler’s eyes fluttered closed, “At least you and I can suffer together,” For a moment, that sentence sounded sincere spilling from Josh’s lips. Tyler was hanging onto his every word as if he depended on it. “But hey, I’ve gotta get back to my family. I’ll see you ‘round, yeah?”

Shit, that factor had completely slipped his mind. And the fact that Josh hadn’t put two and two together yet, left him dumbfounded. He decided quickly not to mention the fact that the two would be introduced yet once again in a few minutes.

“Yeah, sooner than you think.” Tyler nodded, as he watched Josh’s red-head walk away from him.

Tyler was left sitting at the bar, more confused than he had ever been. How was it that one interaction, one encounter with someone could make you feel so different? He didn’t want to dwell on it, there was no point in looking into something that wasn’t there. He just hoped that Josh would open up to him like that again, after realizing they’d be stuck together more than either of them would like to admit.

There was no use in waiting for the bartender any longer, he was obviously ignoring him for some reason, so he slipped out of there. He remembered he needed to give Chris the money back, but for some reason he felt like he deserved to keep it. Plus after this vacation, this would probably be the last amount of money his Father would ever trust him with. Tyler decided that was fair, he didn’t want anything from someone who’d been trying to skew him away from his own thoughts, and desires. 

By the time Tyler had reappeared in the lobby, both families were standing together. From what he could assume, they were all around the same age. It made sense to him, but he still didn’t even know how old Josh was. For some reason, he seemed older, but he wasn’t sure. Looks and actions could be deceiving.

Slowly, Tyler approached the group of eleven, he suddenly regretted not telling Josh that he was probably the other reason why he was hiding alone in that bar. He swallowed hard, and put on a smile that was sure to please both of his parents, and play it off like him and Josh never met. 

“There you are, what took you so long?” Chris scolded him, his and motioning Tyler to come quicker. “And you didn’t even get the beers? You spent 10 minutes wasting your time.”

Tyler wasn’t in the mood to fight, “The bartender was busy I guess, there was no one in there and he was blatantly ignoring me. I waited awhile then left, sue me.” There was an spice of attitude to Tyler’s words, although he wasn’t in the mood to fight, he was always prepared to.

“Hey now, sweetheart, that’s alright.” Kelly said to him, smiling, doing exactly what she does best. Intervening her husband before a civil war broke lose. “You’re here now, and that’s all that matters. Tyler, these are Bill and Laura’s kids, Josh, Ashley, Jordan, and Abigail.” She pointed each one out to him, but he didn’t bother looking. 

Stop looking at me. 

Tyler looked up seeing Josh’s eyes burning into his skin, he guessed his mental message didn’t go through. 

Shit. He definitely hates me.


	4. 04

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi darlings!!!!  
> I'm so sorry it took me so long to update, I've been a little busy.  
> There's been tons on my mind as of late, so just needed a clearer head to be able to continue.  
> But no worries, we're back on track.  
> This is a longer chapter.  
> I hope you all enjoy!  
> Chapter 5 will be up by this time tomorrow!  
> xx

Maybe somehow this was all a dream, and Tyler would be waking up on the plane at any second. 

Yeah, sorry to break it to you Tyler, but this is real. And it’s just the beginning. 

Much to his surprise, Josh reached his hand out for him to grab as if the two had never seen one another. “I’m Josh, nice to meet you, Tyler.” 

What was he doing? 

Tyler grabbed his hand, and he could have swore the whole room lit up. Anyone who didn’t notice it, probably wasn’t paying attention, and to his knowledge all eyes were locked on them. “Like wise.”

Their eyes met for a second, he wanted to melt from the inside out but he kept his composure. Tyler dropped his hand immediately, while Josh continued to introduce his siblings. If he was being honest, he wasn’t hearing anything of what Josh said. His eyes were fixated on his lips, and how they moved, and the way his lips curl up when he speaks. 

Like a robot, Tyler responded, “Nice to meet all of you.” This felt all too familiar, almost like, deja vu. 

“Ty, sweetheart, why don’t you and Josh take your brothers and sisters down to the beach for a while? I’m sure you all would love the time to get to know one another, you’ll be spending lots and lots of time together.” Kelly said, these words sounded all too familiar coming from her mouth. 

“Yeah, alright.” Tyler pressed his lips together, and glared at his siblings. Why must he always have to keep an eye on them at all times? Weren’t Chris and Kelly their parents? Not him. Why was this always his responsibility. “But I obviously can’t speak for Josh of course.”

Josh’s brown eyes of death darted toward him, at that moment, he knew the both of them together would be trouble. “I mean, I don’t really wanna go anywhere with them. But if I have to?” Josh shrugged.

“Yeah Mom, we’re old enough to wander around by ourselves.” Kelly’s eyes grew wide at Madison’s comment, she had never spoken like that to their Mother before.

“Excuse me young lady, you’ll do what you’re told. And that’s final.” Chris said, shooing them all away with his hands. “Go play, this is adult time now.” 

Tyler glared at his father so intensely, he could swear that the tension between the two could start the biggest fire. The worst part was his Father was giving back the exact same look, and with any second, either of them could snap. 

The two oldest Joseph men never really saw eye to eye, and at this tender age of 18, Tyler has accepted it his father for who he truly is.

Just a plain douchebag.

Although Tyler would live the whole rest of his life trying to live up to his Father’s unreachable standards, he did know the truth about who he is as a person. In his mind, that made the possibility of Tyler letting him down seem somewhat…. Pleasureable? 

When Tyler was about 13 he discovered a part of himself that he never really knew before, and this part of him was afraid, and alone, just needing someone to talk to. He never noticed how bad of an idea it was to talk to his Father about his inner demons, and that day he vowed silently to himself that he would never speak to his father about anything close to that ever again.

“Honey,” Kelly snapped in front of Chris’ face, it seems he had been having the same exact memory as Tyler. “Enough, just go Tyler, please? Don’t make this harder than it needs to be.”

Tyler didn’t even bother to bicker with his Mother, because as usual, there was no other side other than his Father’s. Which he understood, if he was Kelly he would be frightened to stick up for himself too.

Jay pulled at Tyler’s shirt, and he looked down at him. Such an innocent face he had, one that Tyler remembers seeing in Zack, but he was almost certain Jay’s would never quite fade. “We can kick the Dun’s butts in Volleyball. It’ll be fun.”

It seemed like all of the Dun’s had the same laugh as Josh’s, same familiar snort, because he heard it all in unison. 

“You don’t stand a chance.” Jordan shot back, sticking his tongue out at the younger boy. At least Tyler knew these kids would be easy to get along with, maybe this won’t be so bad.

“Yeah, you’ll just have to wait and see about that.” Madison retorted, storming off toward the beach.

This meant war.

\---------

The game came to a finish with the Dun’s with 12 and Joseph’s with a record winning 15 points. Gloating wasn’t something the Joseph’s did frequently, because let’s be real, they’re your basic run of the mill church family. But when they had a chance to gloat, they milked it.

“And you said you’d win, we literally swept you.” Madison said to Jordan with an accomplished grin on her face. Tyler knew exactly what she was doing, and was in no position to stop it. 

Bickering back and forth went on between the younger children as the four oldest distanced themselves significantly. Sure, it was always fun keeping them entertained, but at some point they just grew intolerable. Tyler felt bad about that, but at the same time he didn’t. He wanted to spend as much time with Josh as he could anyways, it was something about that magnetic field that kept him wanting more.

“Good game, you’ve got a good spike.” Zack says, nudging Ashley softly. He was making those eyes, which also told Tyler that he was also trying it. The sad part was, he thinks Ashley might be the type of girl to fall for it. She was already blushing.

“Yeah, I know, but apparently not good enough to distract you.” Ashley started giggling. 

She was fucked, and Tyler decided that night he would be praying for her at evening prayer.

Josh made a gagging noise, “Go find a room somewhere, leave the actual adults alone, would ya?”

The two looked at eachother with no protest, they got up, leaving Tyler and his red-headed mess of a friend alone. 

Silence. 

Why wasn’t he saying anything? Tyler couldn’t handle it if he was angry with him, he didn’t necessarily lie. Did he?

“Do you have magical powers or something? I could never get him to go away that easily if I tried.” He was impressed. 

Josh grinned at him, “No, I think it’s all in the voice. As long as you sound like you mean business, you will.”

Tyler snorted, which made Josh extremely excited. “My voice isn’t as intimidating as yours, so I guess I’m just going to have to carry you around with me to ward off evil. Or Zack.”

When their eyes met this time, there was a warm feeling creeping up inside of Tyler’s soul. He tried so hard to ignore it, and to ignore what he was obviously feeling toward this strange boy, but it was no use.

‘Boys don’t feel that way about other boys, don’t be stupid.’ The voice lingers in his head, he swallows hard before shaking away the scarful distant memory.

Tyler knew what was about to come out of his mouth before Josh even spoke, “Why didn’t you say anything to me before? We literally talked about our parents, and you didn’t even mention that we were gonna be stuck with one another.”

He froze, Josh was completely right. He needed to think quick on his feet, he wasn’t sure what to say. “I figured I would let it be a surprise.”

“Really Tyler?”

“I’m sorry okay? I didn’t want my parents to think we’d actually like one another, otherwise we wouldn’t be sitting together right now.” Tyler dug his feet far into the sand, breaking the safe gaze with Josh. The ocean was in his view now, and he began to calm himself. “And what do you mean stuck together? You can leave if you wanted to.”

“What do you mean by that?” Josh asked. Of course he didn’t know what Tyler meant, because he knows absolutely nothing about him. They’re strangers. 

“Nothing, it doesn’t mean anything.”

Josh pushed him playfully, demanding Tyler’s full attention. “It’s gotta mean something if you’re saying it means nothing.”

“Don’t ignore my question.” Tyler spat, his words filled with sternness. 

Josh looked at him with serious eyes, “I didn’t mean it like that, I meant like for the remainder of the vacation. I know I could leave, and trust me, I want to. But there’s something keeping me right here, with you.”

Tyler felt the blush soak his cheeks with warmth, he played with sand in between his fingertips. “Good, I guess if I have to be stuck with anyone. I’d rather be stuck with you.”

A small grin appeared on Josh’s face, Tyler was aware how this sight was slowly becoming his favorite. “Now you answer my question.” 

He gave in and turned toward him, he hated this he had this hold over him already. “Look, I just don’t really like a lot of people okay? And I was never really ever able to, y’know, choose my own friends. And if my parents knew we met prior to now, we wouldn’t be even speaking again.”

It looked like Josh was trying to figure out the code to the lock Tyler kept on his brain, and the things he kept only to himself. Tyler so desperately hoped he wouldn’t be able to crack his code, he wasn’t ready for what was included in that whole package.

Josh inched closer to him. 

Don’t do that.

Doesn’t he know he’s not supposed to do that?

“They don’t let you choose your own friends? I think I was wrong before, I think your parents are the devil.”

Tyler laughed softly, but his laugh dulled into sadness. “Yeah, maybe my Dad, that’s about it.”

“I noticed that, what’s with that tension? That’s horrifying, I thought he was gonna hit you.” Josh’s tone was soaked with worry. 

Why did he care? Him and Tyler just met.

“Situations like these haven’t stopped him before, but I think that’s a story for another time, don’t you think? Plus, I think that he’s trying to put on an act for your parents. Like we’re some big happy family or something.” 

“Are you not?” Josh seemed like he was actually interested. This was strange, no one ever cared this much about his family, let alone Tyler himself.

“Don’t worry about that, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there, yeah?” Tyler’s eyes darted down the beach, making sure his siblings were still there. 

He laid eyes on Abigail and Jay making sand castles in the sand, a smile formed at his lips, at least Jay was happy. Madison standing out by the water, Jordan stood behind her, staring out also. It took a second for Tyler to realize what they were staring at, and then it hit him like a freight train. 

The day was slowly coming to a close, with stripes of orange and pink intertwining with one another perfectly. The colors danced across the sky like a swift ballerina, casting the most beautiful shadow on the mountains in the distance. 

Tyler felt Josh’s wrap around his shoulder, he didn’t mind it, there was nothing more comforting than being held by someone while watching the day end it’s life. 

“Did you ever think about how you can be in so many different worlds at once, and not even realize it? I mean. I didn’t even know your world existed until today, and somehow, six hours later, I’m in it.” Tyler whispered to him, not sure if Josh was the kind of guy who was in touch with his feelings. But for some reason, explaining this to him felt right. 

Josh turned to him, and he was sure that Josh was going to look at him like he had two heads. His smile was blinding, “Tyler, I think that’s the most amazing thing anyone has ever said to me. What goes on in there?” He motioned to Tyler’s head.

“Are you sure you want to know?”

“I want to know all of it and more, we’ve got time don’t we?”

Yes we do Josh, yes we do.


End file.
